Resealable moisture tight container assembly for strips and the like having a lip snap seal

ABSTRACT

A substantially moisture tight container and lid assembly for storing and packaging moisture-sensitive items comprising an assembly with a container and a lid, the lid is attached by a hinge to an upper housing portion of the container, the lid includes a lip seal member that depends downwardly from the lid, the lip seal member is configured to abut at least a portion of the interior side of the container when the lid is in the closed position resulting in a substantially moisture tight seal between the lid and the lid, and the container assembly further comprising a base portion and an upper housing portion, the upper housing portion is capable of being snap-fit into the base portion by employing a lip seal mechanism to form a substantially moisture-tight seal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/202,867, filed Mar. 10, 2014, which is a continuation of Ser. No.13/944,708, filed Jul. 17, 2013, which is a continuation of Ser. No.13/533,233, filed Jun. 26, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/425,590, filed Apr. 17, 2009, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/171,171, filed Jun. 30,2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.10/683,311, filed Oct. 10, 2003, which claims a benefit under 35 U.S.C.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/417,533, filed Oct.10, 2002, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a resealable container and lid assemblyhaving a lip snap seal for storing and packaging moisture-sensitiveitems, including but not limited to edible breath-freshening strips,drug-delivery strips, diagnostic test strips, and effervescent tablets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a resealable container and lid assemblyhaving a lip snap seal for storing and packaging moisture-sensitiveitems, including but not limited to edible breath-freshening strips,drug delivery strips, diagnostic test strips, and effervescent tablets.

The container assembly substantially prohibits the ingress of moistureinto the container assembly through the lid when the container issealed. In other words, it is substantially moisture-proof In anotheraspect of the invention, the container assembly is provided with adesiccant or similar material, which reduces the moisture present withinthe container when it is sealed. That is, after the container has beensealed, the desiccant absorbs moisture present therein. Likewise, afterthe container has been opened and then resealed, the desiccant absorbsmoisture that entered the cavity when the container was opened.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the assembly comprises a lidand container that may be attached by a hinge. The hinge has a recess.The recess forms two elements, the first element being attached to thelid portion and the second element being attached to the containerportion. In still a further embodiment, the recess functions as abending point during the opening and closing of the container assembly.

The container has a sidewall depending downwardly from a top containersurface. A bottom container surface is joined to the sidewall. The topcontainer surface is provided with an opening, permitting access to theinterior of the container. The opening is bounded by a lip that dependsupward from the top container surface. A rim is positioned on theoutside of the upper end of the lip.

In one example, the lid portion of the assembly is attached to thecontainer portion by a hinge. The lid portion has a base portion with anouter periphery that extends over the container portion. In oneembodiment, a portion of the base portion serves as a tab forfacilitating the opening and closing of the container assembly. In yetanother embodiment, the base portion is provided with a skirt thatdepends downwardly from a central portion of the base portion. The skirtis positioned at a location on the base portion that allows the skirt toenter into a closing relationship with lip of the container portion, inwhich the skirt of the base portion fits over the periphery of the lipprovided on the top container surface (or, as the case may be, the skirtfits within the periphery of the lip). The skirt of the base portion hasan end distal to where the skirt joins the lid portion. At the distalend of the skirt, the skirt is provided with an inward extension, whichextends around the interior periphery of the skirt. Similarly, the lipof the container portion is provided with an end distal to where the lipjoins the container portion, and the distal end of the lip is providedwith an outward facing extension, which extends around the periphery ofthe lip. In effect, the extension on the skirt and the extension on thelip face each other. In constructing this arrangement on the skirt andlip, the extensions will abut and interlock with each other when the lidis closed on the container portion. In this arrangement, theinterlocking, abutting extensions will form at least a substantiallymoisture-tight sealing arrangement with each other.

In yet another embodiment, a lip seal member depends downwardly andextends around the lid portion. The lip seal member is positionedinterior to the skirt, which also depends downwardly from the baseportion. Further, the lip seal member is positioned to lie interior ofthe lip extending upward from the container portion. When the lid is inthe closed position, the lip seal member abuts the interior side of thedistal end of the lip. In this arrangement, the lip seal (1) provides asealing position, in addition to the one between the skirt and the lip;and (2) applies pressure on the lip from the inside out, which in turnapplies pressure on the skirt, thereby applying tightening the sealbetween the skirt and the lip.

In yet another embodiment, the lid and/or container contain a desiccant,in the shape of a disc (e.g. puck), sleeve, or other desired shapes,

In yet another embodiment, the assembly includes an elastomeric linerapplied to selected regions of the assembly. For example, elastomericliner may be positioned on the interior surface of the lid, between theskirt and where the lip seals are provided, it may line the lip seals aswell.

In yet another embodiment, the skirt depending downward from the baseportion has a distal end that is provided with an inward extension. Thelip has an end distal to the location where the lip joins the containertop surface, where the recess is positioned, The recess is adapted toreceive the extension when the lid portion is closed upon the containerportion.

In a further embodiment, the container assembly of the present inventionis formed of a plastic material, by injection molding or other suitablemolding techniques. For example, the assembly may be molded ofpolypropylene. The assembly comprises a base and an upper housing thatcan be molded separately, the base can be loaded with the item to beretained in the container, and then the base and upper housing can besnap-fit together employing a lip seal in order to providemoisture-tightness.

In one embodiment, the containers of the present invention have arelatively small height dimension, making them well adapted to fit in ahandbag, purse, or pocket. Despite this small height dimension, thecontainer is well suited to storing items such as candies, ediblebreath-freshening strips, and diagnostic test strips, such as thoseemployed in testing blood glucose levels.

In yet another embodiment, the opening of the container is irregular inits shape, not having a uniform radius. In other words, it is notcircular.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container of the present invention;

FIG. 2. is a cross sectional view of a container of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a lip seal for a container of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of another lip seal for a container ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a container of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a container of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a container of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a feature shown in the FIG. 7embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container of the present invention, asan item is removed from the container; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a container of the present invention inthe closed position;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of another embodiment of a containerof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing features of the embodiment of FIG.10; and

FIGS. 12A to 12N illustrate views of yet another embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 13A to 13E illustrate views of yet another embodiment of thepresent Invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an enlarged section of one end ofthe base and upper housing assembly illustrating the snap lip seal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a container and lid assembly forstoring and packaging moisture-sensitive items, including but notlimited to edible breath-freshening strips, drug-delivery strips,diagnostic test strips, and effervescent tablets, that substantiallyprohibits the ingress of moisture into the assembly through the lid whenthe container and lid are sealed.

In one embodiment, the assembly 10 is generally provided with a lidportion 12 and container portion 14 that are attached by a hinge 16. Thehinge 16 has a recess 16′. The recess 16′ forms two elements, the firstelement being attached to the lid portion and the second element beingattached to the container portion In still a further embodiment, therecess functions as a bending point during the opening and closing ofthe container assembly.

The container portion has a container base 13, and a sidewall 11depending upwardly from the base 13. A top container surface 17 extendsinward from the sidewall The top container surface 17 is provided withan opening 20, permitting access to the interior of the container. Theopening 20 is bounded by a lip 22 that extends upward from the topcontainer surface 17. Lip 22 extends around the periphery of the opening20. The lip 22 has an end 21 distal to the location where the lip joinsthe container top surface, where an extension 23 is positioned and facesoutward, relative to the opening 20. The extension 23 extends around theperiphery of the lip distal end 21.

The lid portion 12 has a base portion 24 with an outer periphery 25 thatextends over at least a portion of the container portion, in oneembodiment, a portion of the base portion 24 serves as a tab 13 forfacilitating the opening and closing of the container assembly. The baseportion 24 is provided with a skirt 26 that depends downwardly the baseportion. The skirt 26 is positioned at a location on the base portion 24that allows the skirt 26 to enter into a closing relationship with lip22 of the container portion 14, in which the skirt 26 of the baseportion 24 fits over the periphery of the lip 22 provided on the topcontainer surface (or, as the case may be, the skirt fits within theperiphery of the lip). The skirt 26 of the base portion 24 has an end 27distal to the end at which the skirt joins the lid portion. At thedistal end 27 of the skirt, the skirt is provided with an inwardextension 28, which extends around the interior periphery of the skirt.At the distal end 27 of the skirt, the skirt is provided with an inwardfacing extension 28, which extends around the periphery of the skirtdistal end 27. When the lid portion is closed on the container portion,the extension 28 on the skirt 26 and the extension 23 on the lip 22 faceeach other. Further, when the lid portion is closed on the containerportion, the extensions will abut and interlock with each other. In thisarrangement, the interlocking, abutting extensions will form amoisture-tight seal with each other.

In yet another embodiment, a lip seal member 30 depends downwardly andextends around the inside of the lid portion 12. The lip seal member 30is positioned interior to the skirt 26 which also depending downwardlyfrom the base portion 24. Further, the lip seal member 30 is positionedto lie interior of the lip 22 that extends upward from the containerportion 14, and about the interior side of the distal end of the lip 22,when the lid is in the closed position. In this arrangement, as shown inFIG. 3, the lip seal (1) provides a sealing position, in addition to theone between the skirt and the lip and (2) applies pressure on the lipfrom the inside out, which in turn applies pressure on the skirt,thereby applying tightening the seal between the skirt and the lip. FIG.4 shows a component 30′ present as a hollowed out member.

In yet another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the structure ofthe lip 22′ has a distal end 27′ provided with an extension 28′. Theskirt 26′ has a recess 23′ positioned near where the skirt depends fromthe base portion 24′. The recess 23′ is adapted to receive the extension28′ when the lid portion is closed upon the container portion. When thelid portion is closed on the container portion, the abutting arrangementbetween the lip and the skirt, and presence of the extension within therecess, forms a substantially moisture tight seal. FIG. 11 shows theconfiguration for such an arrangement.

In yet another embodiment, the lid and/or container contain a desiccant,in the shape of a disc (e.g. puck), sleeve, or other shapes. In oneembodiment, a desiccant entrained plastic is located in a desiccantliner that covers at least a portion of the lid and/or container, suchas the desiccant-entrained plastic sleeve 34 positioned at the bottom ofthe container. See FIG. 2, where the sleeve 34 is shown surrounding theitem stored within the container on three of the item's sides. In oneembodiment, such a sleeve or liner can surround the stored item(s) onmore or less than three sides. See, e.g., FIG. 7, where the desiccantinsert is positioned on the container base. When the container assemblyis repeatedly opened and closed, the desiccant-entrained plastic sleevere-establishes the low relative humidity environment inside thecontainer assembly in a short period of time (e.g. in as low as lessthan about one minute), when a desiccant, such as the sleeve of FIG. 2,is included in the assembly.

The desiccant-entrained plastic contains a desiccant such as silica gelor molecular sieve as the desiccant. Depending on the application, suchas the application intended by the end user, molecular sieve or silicagel desiccant can be provided in the sleeve. For example, molecularsieve can be used for applications that require a low RH (e.g. less than<10% RH) maintained over the shelf life. In another example, silica gelcan maintain a RH of 10-30% over a two-year shelf life.

Suitable desiccant entrained plastic include, but are not limited to,these desiccant plastics disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,911,937,6,214,255, 6,130,263, 6,080,350 and 6,174,952, 6,124,006, and 6,221,446.These references are incorporated herein by Reference. By varying thedesiccant loading and channeling agent in the plastic formulation, theoverall moisture capacity and uptake rate of the desiccant entrainedplastic can be controlled. In embodiments where containers includedesiccant material, they may be formed by two shot molding techniques.

In yet another embodiment, the assembly includes an elastomeric liner 36applied to selected regions of the assembly. For example, elastomericliner may be positioned on the interior surface of the lid portion,lying inside the skirt. Where the lip seals are provided, it may linethem as well. In one example, a suitable elastomer is EPDM, commerciallyavailable under the trade name Santoprene.

The containers of the present invention are formed of plastic materials,by injection molding or other suitable molding techniques. For example,the containers may be molded of polypropylene. in one embodiment, thecontainers can be formed as a single closed unit, with the hinge joiningthe lid portion to the container portion.

In yet another embodiment, the container assembly comprising the baseand upper housing portion can be molded separately. As such, in oneexample, the base portion can be loaded with the item(s) to be retainedin the container assembly, and then the upper housing portion can besnap-fit with the base by employing a lip seal mechanism in order toprovide moisture-tightness. Consequently, the container and lid assemblycan be fit together, and the parts joined without the need foradditional sealing methods, e.g., by welding (such as by sonic weldingor by thermal welding).

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of the container assembly having asnap-fit by employing a lip seal mechanism. In FIG. 14, a lip sealmember 300 of the upper housing portion depends downwardly and extendsaround the inside of the base portion. The lip seal member 300 ispositioned interior to a skirt which also depending downwardly from theupper housing portion. Further, the lip seal member 300 is positioned tolie interior of a lip that extends upward from the base portion, andabout the interior side of the distal end of the lip, when the baseportion is snap sealed with the upper housing portion, In one example,the lip seal (1 provides a sealing position, in addition to the onebetween the skirt and the lip; and (2) applies pressure on the lip fromthe inside out, which in turn applies pressure on the skirt, therebyapplying tightening the seal between the skirt and the lip.

In a further embodiment of the lip seal mechanism, lip seal mechanism isdesigned to be sufficiently deflective so as to assist in the formationof a seal. As examples, the design of degree of deflection of theflexible lip can include, but is not limited to, the composition of theflexible lip (e.g. type of plastic), the thickness of the flexible lip,the curvature of the flexible lip, the length of the flexible lip and/orany attachments to the flexible lip.

In a further embodiment, the lid and container can be formed in a singlepiece (for example, joined at the hinge), yet open, as in a clamshellarrangement. The assembly can be filled with contents, closed shut, andthen joined, e.g., welded to form a seal, as described above.

An embodiment depicting a two-part assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 6 to9 and 12. In this embodiment, assembly 100 is provided with covercomponent 102 and tray component 120. The cover component 102 has a lidportion 104 that is joined to upper component 108 by hinge 106. Asshown, lid portion 104 has sidewalls 90 located at the periphery of thelid base 92. The hinge 106 is joined to one of the sidewalls 90. Withinthe space of the sidewalls, the underside of the lid base 92 has arecess 93 in which the lip 22″, depending from the lid base 92, islocated. As shown in FIG. 7, the lip 22″, which extends in a loop arounda portion of the lid base 92, is positioned to be received in theopening 112 of upper component 108, when the lid portion is closed onthe opening 112. The lip 22″ is provided with an end 23″ distal to wherethe lip 22″ is joined to the lid base 92. As best seen in FIG. 7A, thedistal end 23″ of lip 22″ has a tapered edge 25″, which is adapted tolie substantially flush against the surface 132 of the edge 130, whenthe lip 22″ of the lid portion 104 is closed on the opening 112 of theupper component 108. Thus, when the lid portion 104 is closed on theopening 112 of the upper component 108, the tapered edge 25″ of the lip22″ lies substantially flush against the flexible edge 130 surroundingthe opening 112 in the top surface 109 of the cover component 102.

At the end of the lid portion 104 that is opposite the hinge, lid latchcomponent 105, depending from the lid base 92, is located. In oneembodiment, hooks 107 are provided on the lid latch 105. in anotherembodiment, a tab 116, to facilitate opening of the lid portion, when itis closed on the opening 112, is provided on the lid portion.

Upper component 108 has top wall 109 from which sidewalk 110 and slopedwall 115 depend downward. Opening 112 is provided in the top wall 109.In the embodiment relating to hooks, hooks configured to mate with andcompliment the hooks 107 on the lid portion 104 are positioned at oneend of the upper component 108. At the end opposite where the hooks arepositioned, hinge 106 is joined to the upper component 108. The uppercomponent may have a recess 111 for the hinge 106, positioned betweenelevated portions 109′ of top wall 109.

The tray component 120 is provided with sidewalk 124 and sloped wall 126depending upward from the base of the tray 122. Sloped wall 126 iscomplimentary in its shape to the sloped wall 115 of the upper component108. The side walls define a cavity 128 where items can be stored.

As best seen in FIG. 7, the edges 130 of the opening 112 provided in thetop wall 109 are formed of a flexible plastic material that slopesdownward, into the opening 112. The edges extend around the periphery ofthe opening 112.

Again, seen in FIG. 7A, the distal end 23″ of lip 22″ has a tapered edge25″, which is adapted to lie flush against the surface 132 of the edge130, when the lip 22″ of the lid portion 104 is closed on the opening112 of the upper component 108. Thus, when the lid portion 104 is closedon the opening 112 of the upper component 108, the tapered edge 25″ ofthe lip 22″ lies flush against the flexible edge 130 surrounding theopening 112 in the top surface 109 of the upper component 108, therebysealing the opening from substantial moisture ingress.

In the closed position (FIG. 7), hooks 107, 114, provided on the lidportion 104 and the upper component 108, respectively, are engaged witheach other, to maintain the lid portion 104 closed on the uppercomponent 108.

The cover component 102 is adapted to fit over the tray component 120,in order to form a container assembly. The cover component and the traycomponent can be loaded with items to be dispensed through the openingand then joined together, in the ways previously described herein.

As seen in FIG. 7, a stack of items is positioned in the container.Opening 112 is sized to permit a person to insert at least a portion ofhis or her finger therein. As shown in FIG. 8, a person can slide aportion of the index finger inside the hole, sliding an item up thesloped wall of the cavity 128 (FIG. 7), and through the opening.

A desiccant material, such as a desiccant sleeve, can be positioned inthe container. As shown in FIG. 7, the sleeve 34′ may be positionedalong the base 122 of the tray component, or anywhere else along theinterior of the assembly, where the item(s) is stored.

FIG. 9 shows the assembly in the closed position. It will be readilyappreciated that the assembly is relatively compact, and will fit withina purse, handbag, or pocket, without taking up an undesired amount ofspace.

FIGS. 12A-12N show various views of another embodiment of a containerassembly. Features of this embodiment are similar to the features of theembodiment depicted in FIGS. 6-9, with some differences as describedhere. The shape of the opening is asymmetrical. Also, the covercomponent 102 has a two hinge arrangement. Hinge 106 is as describedabove. Hinge 206 joins the first and second lid portions 104A and 104B.The lip of the lid portion is located on component 104B. Lid portion104B is provided with tabs 208 that depend downward therefrom. Tabs 208are sized and positioned to be received in recess 210 located on the topwall 109, and are received therein when the lid portion 104B is closedupon the top wall 109. In one embodiment, lid portion 104B may never beopened again, once it has been closed as described herein. The lidportion 104A is opened and shut at hinge 206.

FIGS. 13A-12E show various views of yet another embodiment of acontainer assembly. Features of this embodiment are similar to thefeatures of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1-5 and 6-9. As shown, theshape of the opening is asymmetrical. Also, the lid component has a onehinge arrangement. The hinge joins the lid to a portion of thecontainer. In use, the lid portion is opened and shut at the hinge withthe lid. In one example of constructing the assembly, the container baseis made of two materials—at least a portion of the interior of the baseis composed of a desiccant entrained plastic and the remaining portionof the base is composed of a substantially water impermeable plastic(e.g. polypropylene, polyethylene), The lid is welded (e.g. ultrasonicwelding) to the lid portion. After the container is filled with thedesired material, the lid is joined to container (e.g. ultrasonicwelding). The result is a moisture tight container.

At least some or all of the embodiments of the present invention can bemolded according to techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat. Re. 37,676 (areissue of U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,085), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,116, and4,783,056, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In another embodiment, the present invention relates to moisture-tightand resealable container and lid assembly. The term “resealable” meansthat the lid of the container can be opened/reopened and closed/recloseda numerous amount of times (e.g. more than 10 times) and still retainits moisture-tight properties. As used herein, the terms“moisture-tight” and “moisture-sensitive” mean the moisture ingress ofthe container (after three days) was less than about 1500 micrograms ofwater, in another embodiment, about 500 micrograms of water, in afurther embodiment, about 300 micrograms of water, in yet anotherembodiment, about 150 micrograms of water determined by the followingtest method: (a) place one gram plus or minus 0.25 grams of molecularsieve in the container and record the weight; (b) fully close thecontainer; (c) place the closed container in an environmental chamber atconditions of 80% relative humidity and 72 F.: (c) after one day, weighthe container containing the molecular sieve; (d) after four days, weighthe container containing the molecular sieve; and (e) subtract the firstday sample from the fourth day sample to calculate the moisture ingressof the container in units of micrograms of water.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substantially moisture tight container and lidassembly for storing and packaging moisture-sensitive items comprisingan assembly with a containerand a lid, the lid is attached by a hinge toan upper portion of the container, the container has a container base,and a sidewall depending upwardly from the container base, a topcontainer surface extends inward from the sidewall, the top containersurface is provided with an opening defined by an upwardly extending lipthat permits access to the interior of the container, the lid has a lidbase with an outer periphery that extends over at least a portion of thecontainer, the lid base is provided with a skirt that depends downwardlyfrom the outer periphery, the skirt is configured at a location on thelid base that allows the skirt to engage the sidewall of the containerbase, the lid includes a lip seal member that depends downwardly fromthe lid, the lip seal member is configured to abut at least a portion ofthe upwardly extending lip of the container when the lid is in theclosed position resulting in a substantially moisture tight seal betweenthe lip seal member and the upwardly extending lip of the container. 2.The container and lid assembly of claim 1 wherein a portion of the lidserves as a tab for facilitating the opening and closing of thecontainer assembly.
 3. The container and lid assembly of claim 1 whereinat least a portion of the interior of the container base is composed ofa desiccant entrained plastic.
 4. The container and lid assembly ofclaim 1 wherein the container and lid assembly is resealable.
 5. Thecontainer and lid assembly of claim 1 wherein the moisture ingress ofthe container, after three days, is less than about 1500 micrograms ofwater.
 6. The container and lid assembly of claim 1 wherein the moistureingress of the container, after three days, is less than about 500micrograms of water.
 7. The container and lid assembly of claim 1wherein the moisture ingress of the container, after three days, is lessthan about 300 micrograms of water.